Morocco participated in a major international operation against drug trafficking, conducted simultaneously in Brazil and three European countries, Brazilian media reported.
The operation, supported by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and Europol, was conducted in the execution of 19 arrest warrants issued by two courts in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
It was aimed at dismantling a drug trafficking group operating in Central America, Brazil and Europe.According to authorities, the drug traffickers were breaking up the drugs and transporting them in cars or trucks to Brazilian ports before shipping them to Europe. Investigations indicated that in the last 15 months, drug traffickers transferred some 250 million Reais ($48 million), the proceeds of this drug trade. The international drug gang was allied with two criminal factions.
According to the Brazilian Federal Police, they were sending cocaine from Peru and Bolivia to European countries. The group had an active branch in Central America.On the same day, the authorities also carried out Operation Turfe, deployed in Brazil, Spain, Paraguay and the United Arab Emirates, which aimed to execute 20 arrest warrants and 30 searches against an organization that obtained cocaine from producer countries such as Bolivia and Colombia, before transporting it to Europe. According to authorities, the drugs were transported to Europe by sea, concealed in containers, including to the ports of Barcelona and Valencia (Spain) from where they were then transported to other countries in Europe. The drugs were sent to Rio de Janeiro, where the main criminal group in the region was responsible for shipping them to Europe.
In total, it took authorities 18 months to identify the members of this gang, who used complex logistics to bring the drugs from other countries and launder the money. Investigations also revealed that the organization laundered drug money through the acquisition of race horses. For these operations, 200 agents of the Brazilian Federal Police were mobilized, allowing the arrest of at least 25 people.
Among the detainees were four Spaniards arrested in Iberia, where 400 kilos of cocaine were also seized.In addition, luxury vehicles and cash were seized and bank accounts were blocked in this operation. The two operations, carried out on the same day for logistical reasons, were aimed at dismantling drug trafficking organizations that were shipping cocaine to several European countries and had been under investigation for almost two years.
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